Today Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the selection of the Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group (WAG). The 13-member group is a volunteer entity charged with assisting the BRA’s planning team in developing a long term strategy for business growth, employment opportunities, and housing development in the Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy area of Mattapan. The Working Group is a part of the larger Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative, a planning study of the 9.2 mile Fairmount Indigo commuter rail line, which links South Station to Readville, crossing through Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park.

“I am confident that the Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group will have a significant impact on the City’s efforts to identify how to best grow this key community along the Fairmount Indigo commuter rail line,” said Mayor Menino.

The 14-member group includes residents, property owners, business leaders, and nonprofit organization representatives.

Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group Members include:

Corey Allen, Cummins Valley Neighborhood Association

Vilma Berarducci, Mattapan Property Owner

Amenyonah Bossman, Mattapan Resident

Greg Burton, Church of the Holy Spirit

R. Kelly Cameron, Mattapan Resident

Lisa Dix, Woodhaven Culvert Regis Neighborhood Association

Dieufort J. Fleurissant, Mattapan Business Owner

Joanne Freeman, Mattapan Resident

Jacques Dady Jean, Mattapan Business Owner and Resident

Brenda King, Mattapan Resident

Lincoln Lamond, Mattapan United

Allentza Michel, Mattapan Resident

Robert Peters, Mattapan Resident

Tina Petigny, Executive Director, Mattapan Square Main Streets

The 25-member Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative (FIPI) Corridor-wide Advisory Group that covers planning for the entire 9.2 mile corridor has four Mattapan representatives. The Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group and FIPI Corridor-wide Advisory Group will coordinate information throughout the two year process. The FIPI study will identify two additional neighborhoods along the corridor for focused planning.

The BRA issued a call for nominations for the Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group in May 2013. The authority received 32 nominations from stakeholders, including Fairmount corridor non-profits, business groups, and elected officials. Mayor Menino made the final 14 member selection based on its representative sample of Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy area.

The Blue Hill Ave/Cummins Hwy Working Advisory Group will hold their first meeting on Thursday, September 26th, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Mattapan Community Health Center. All working advisory group meetings are open to the public and will be posted at the BRA website www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org and at the FIPI website at www.fairmountindigoplanning.org. The public is also encouraged to sign up for meeting notifications by contacting the project director of the planning study, Jeremy Rosenberger, Jeremy.Rosenberger.BRA@cityofboston.gov.

About the Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative

FIPI is a two year BRA study that will look at short and long term strategies for improving capital investment and job access along the 9.2 mile Fairmount Indigo commuter rail line, which links South Station to Readville, crossing through Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park.

FIPI is the BRA’s largest planning study to date and will impact 190,000 residents, or nearly one third of Boston’s population, who live within a half-mile of the commuter rail line. The study will identify corridor wide opportunities for commercial and residential development, transit access, public realm enhancements, and community building initiatives. This study will lay the groundwork for new opportunities to improve resident quality of life.